The statements in this background section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Conduits useful for enabling conveyance of fluid substances from one location to another have been known since at least the times of ancient Rome. Presently, the most common type of conduits exist in tubular form and include without limitation liquid pipes and gas pipes. Other examples of conduits include water pipes, oil pipelines, fuel conduit lines in motorized vehicles equipped with either a spark-ignition or compression-ignition engine, refrigeration conduit lines for conveying refrigerants including halogenated hydrocarbons to and from a compressor, pressure-monitoring conduit lines equipped with a gauge, and various conduits present in chemical manufacturing plants for various purposes, all well-known by those of ordinary skill in the art chemical engineering.
Conduits which are pipes are typically shaped to exist as a hollow cylindrical shell, having a length dimension that is orders of magnitude greater than the diameter of the conduit, and having a wall with a selected thickness. Conduits are made from a wide variety of materials depending on their intended end use, as is well-known in the art, typical examples including without limitation thermoplastics including polyolefin polymers and copolymers such as PVC or CPVC, various grades of stainless steel, copper, steel, concrete, asphaltic materials, ceramics, and reinforced composites.
Owing to various reasons which often include physical damage such as being accidentally drilled into and other like damage, it sometimes occurs that the wall of a conduit exhibits a flaw, which can be development of a hole, crack, or other fracture or imperfection that enables leakage from a material present inside the wall of the conduit, to the external surroundings, which leakage is promoted depending on the degree of pressure differential existing between the interior of the conduit and the external surroundings. In some instances such leaks are of little consequence, where in other instances such as when the conduit is transmitting a flammable substance or even water, substantial damage can be caused to occur to articles, equipment, and other physical objects in the vicinity of the leakage.
Rectification of a flaw in a conduit, when the contents of the conduit are under a pressure greater than ambient, typically requires the pressure inside the conduit be decreased to ambient, the contents internal to the conduit being drained, and replacement or repair is undertaken, as is known in the art.
The present invention provides articles that are readily affixable to the exterior of a conduit, to quickly stop a material inside a conduit from leaking out into the external surroundings. The articles provided herein are easy to use, rapidly deployed, readily removable, reusable and prevent property damage when used as taught herein.